


The Light’s Purpose

by SpitfireUSN



Category: Destiny (Video Games)
Genre: Depression, Gen, I haven’t really studied Destiny’s lore, a complicated relationship with death, and pretty much everyone else, but I was planning on making my lore a little different anyway so, if that makes sense?, kinda trying to forge my own lore?
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-07
Updated: 2020-04-17
Packaged: 2021-01-24 19:00:19
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 10,172
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21343132
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SpitfireUSN/pseuds/SpitfireUSN
Summary: A new Guardian is resurrected, but with full memory of his past life. And after waking up to this new world where everyone and everything he ever cared for is gone... he’s gonna need help to find a new purpose, but does he even want one? To make matters worse, Ghaul attacks days later and this new life might be over before he has a chance to want to live it.
Kudos: 6





	1. Waking Up

**Waking Up** \- _Somewhere in The EDZ_

Jay remembered dancing lights and bright smiles. Warmth and love and joy. A chill, fear, and pain. And then all at once. All encompassing warmth, but for a chill in the air. Undying love, but for the fear of the unknown. Pure, unbridled joy, but for the shocking pain blossoming in his abdomen. And then nothing. 

He’d been dead. Jay was sure of that. He’d been dead for  _ centuries.  _ But now? Now new lungs breathed life into something that had been a pile of  _ bones  _ moments ago. New muscles formed and new blood simply  _ existed _ and the muscles moved the blood as new skin formed to contain it all. 

_ What the hell is happening to me?!  _

He’d been happy. He was sure of that. There was an ache in his chest, but no wounds, not anymore. The ache was something more… well, simply  _ more.  _

All at once he remembered. Love. He was in love. But then he’d lost it. And then he’d died. He’d been shot. 

Jay gasped as he shot upright,  _ his team. They needed him, he was their medic.  _ He remembered. He remembered being  _ ready  _ to die. He’d been at peace with it, even excited. He searched these new memories. Right. The one he’d loved had been waiting for him on the other side. He’d been ready to die and rejoin him. But… he wasn’t dead. He blinked his eyes open and it was much too bright, he gasped in pain as the light burned his eyes and he coughed as his new lungs adjusted to  _ existing _ . He looked around. There was nothing for miles. Wreckage where he remembered buildings. Overgrown with ivy and green plant life. 

Then he saw something floating in front of him…  _ looking  _ at him. 

“W-wha…” Jay breathed. He had new vocal chords as well. They were still adjusting, leaving a tickle in his throat. 

“Hello.”  _ It  _ said cheerily with a feminine voice, “I’m a Ghost. Actually, I’m  _ your  _ Ghost now. And you’ve been dead a long time.”

Jay coughed, “What the fuck did you do to me?” He demanded. 

It- _ she?- _ blinked at him, “I revived you. You’re a Guardian now, bound with the Light of the Traveler. Now, as I was saying-“

“Put me back.”

“...What?”

“I want to go back. I was happy where I was. I had everything I wanted.”

“You were dead.”

“Yes, and I had love and family.”

“...Well… I can't just…  _ undo  _ it, you’re a Guardian now. Wait-you remember? You’re not supposed to remember anything, according to the other Ghosts I’ve talked to…” she hummed and muttered and appeared to…  _ scan _ ? him. 

“Wait, there are more of you?” Jay questioned. 

”Well, yes and no. We Ghosts are… well I'm not sure what we are, but the Traveler created us.”

“The Traveler?”

“Yes. Look. You’ve been dead a long time-“

“Obviously.”

“-there’s gonna be a lot that doesn’t make sense. Now c'mon, get up, we gotta get to the Last City, before the Fallen find us sitting out here.”

“The... the  _ Last  _ City…?” Jay asked, slowly getting to his feet, “So… we failed… we couldn’t stop them…”

The Ghost blinked at him. He felt her confusion and concern, and felt compelled to explain.

“I-I died I was…. its fuzzy, I don’t remember what attacked, but…. it was bad… so many people died... and I didn’t save any of them, did I?”

The Ghost made a noise, “I’m sorry… it’s been centuries… whoever you fought to save: they’re gone by now, unless they’ve been resurrected as well.”

Jay sighed, “Why did you resurrect me?”

There was an inhuman screaming howl in the distance, “I’ll explain on the way, it’s not safe here. We have to get back to The Tower. It’s in the City; it’s where all the Guardians live.”

“Right... okay.” He looked around, there wasn’t much to see, “I take it it’s not in walking distance.”

“No, it is not,” the Ghost stated simply, “We’ll need to find a ship or a Sparrow at least…”

“A  _ ship? _ ” Jay questioned, stepping in the direction he  _ somehow  _ knew the Ghost wanted to go, “What kind of ship are we talking here, I’m not exactly a pilot, and if you’re talking about the other kind ship I could probably figure it out, but I can’t swim so…”

“You’re rambling,” the Ghost seemed entirely  _ too  _ amused, “It’s an air and space kind of ship, and don’t worry, I can do the flying for you.”

Jay nodded thoughtfully. He really needed something to call her aside from ‘The Ghost’.

“So, you said there’s more of you, and from what I gather you’re sentient, and generally sentient beings have names.”

“Yes?”

Jay rolled his eyes, “You haven’t told me your name.”

“You haven’t told me yours either.”

“You resurrected me without knowing who I am?”

“Well I can’t read your mind. It was more of a feeling, it always is, I think.”

“You’re going to have to elaborate later… my name is Jay.”

The Ghost paused and blinked at him, “I actually don’t have a name. Usually Guardians give their Ghosts a name, a Ghost without a Guardian or a name is just called Ghost.”

“But you’re sentient, you have a personality and you can pick and choose and feel, at least I suspect you can… you could pick your own name.”

“It’s more like a… rite of passage I guess, some Ghosts do get named by other people before they find their Guardians, but mostly we earn our names when we find our Guardian.”

“You keep saying that, what do you mean _ Guardian _ ?”

“A Guardian is a wielder of the Light, a power bestowed by the Traveler. There are three classes of Guardian: Warlock, Hunter, and Titan. The Titans are the wall keeping humanity safe, the Hunters’ domain is the wilds-which is any area outside the City, and Warlocks are behind them both, the ones that study the threats and work towards making them… well,  _ less  _ of a threat.”

“And how do I know which one I am?”

“Well we could find out now,” the Ghost offered.

Jay hummed, “I think your name is Libra.”

Libra  _ beeped _ , “I like it, thank you. Now hold out your hand and close your eyes.”

Jay did as he was told, holding his hand palm up under the Ghost, he took a breath and closed his eyes.

“Now focus,” her voice sounded as if it was in his head now, “Find the Light inside you and draw it out.”

Jay searched his conscious for this  _ Light _ . He found it coiled in his heart, hot as the sun but only warm to the touch. He focused on it, envisioned it spreading; into the lungs, out and up towards his shoulders, racing down through muscle and blood and bone into the palm of his hand. 

“That’s it. Now shape it,” Libra encouraged softly.

Jay focused on the fire in his palm, it spun wildly but was contained in an orb, never reaching further than the length of his fingers. He pulled, stretched it and felt it grow heavy in his hand, he gripped what he’d created from the fire and opened his eyes. 

He was shocked at what he saw. Fire burned all around him, licked at him and climbed his body. But it didn’t burn. He looked at his hand and saw he held a sword  _ made _ of fire. 

It disappeared and so did the fire around him as Libra…  _ materialized  _ back where she had been a moment ago. 

“You’re a Warlock,” she informed him happily, “You can meditate on your power later, we should keep moving I think I detect a ship that can get us out of here and back to the City.”

-x-x-x-

The ship Libra had found had apparently belonged to a Guardian. Who’s body and dead Ghost they found lying not far away. Pieces of the Ghost’s shell were scattered, and there was a large hole in the Guardian’s chest. Libra scanned them both and Jay felt a twinge of melancholy from her.

“There’s nothing we can do.” She said finally, “Let’s take the weapons and ship and get out of here.”

Jay looked at her curiously and knelt to inspect the body himself. The Guardian had undoubtedly been dead before they hit the ground. 

“You can’t resurrect him like you did me?”

“No, I can only resurrect you. And Guardians only get one Ghost. When a Guardian’s Ghost dies, that’s it, they’re on their last life.”

“So I’m functionally immortal…” Jay stated plainly, “ _ Wonderful _ . So much for getting back to the people I love…” he picked up the only weapon laying nearby, a rifle with peeling paint but the name SUROS still legible on the side. 

“Great! It looks like the ship is in perfect condition! Let’s go!”

“Woah slow down Li. We can’t just  _ leave  _ them.”

“There’s nothing we can do.”

“Bullshit. We can give them a proper burial. And someone  _ has  _ to be looking for them, the least we can do is find out who this is and take the news back with us.”

“Okay… how do you plan on burying them?”

“Not all funerals require burying y’know. I remember the stories my parents used to tell me, about Kings and Queens and noble warriors whose bodies were burned on a pyre. It was supposed to be the highest respect, destroy the only thing tying them to the mortal world so that they can pass on and continue to whatever awaited them on the other side.”

“So… you plan on burning them.”

“It’s simultaneously the least and the most I can do. We don’t have a lot of options.” Jay looked over the body, he would have to take something back with him, something that would identify the dead Guardian, so their loved ones would know. He unclasped the cloak attached to the man’s shoulder and folded it. The knife in its scabbard looked…  _ special  _ somehow. He took it-with the scabbard-as well. It would have to do. 

The items dematerialized in his hands and he panicked a moment before Libra’s voice soothed him, “Relax, it’s okay, I just sent them to the storage unit on the ship, it’s called transmatting.” The rifle he’d set aside disappeared the same way. 

“Right…” Jay breathed and stood up. He took a few steps back and closed his eyes, breathing deeply, and  _ searched  _ for that fire Light he’d found and used earlier. 

In moments he held a fire in his palms and he stepped forward and knelt, he allowed a moment of stillness and peace before carefully transferring the fire to the body. Libra had gathered the Ghost’s scattered pieces and put them back together as best she could on the Guardian’s chest, so that they burned together. 

The fire enveloped the bodies quickly and Jay felt a shock of Light as the flames took and burned both of them to ash. Jay stood longer than he probably should have, he felt a need to honor the man who’d died alone in the wilderness with nothing but a gun, a knife, and his Ghost.

According to Libra, the cloak he’d taken was the mark of a Hunter. When he’d asked, Libra had happily explained that his would be a binding, worn on the upper right arm. A Titan’s mark was a scrap of fabric attached to their belts in whatever style they preferred, similar to the Hunter’s cloaks. 

Then she transmatted  _ him _ onto the ship, leaving him gasping in shock in the cockpit. Which she seemed entirely too amused about. She took the controls and the ship was in the air and flying, Jay could only assume she knew the way to the City. 

“So… why me…?” Jay asked eventually.

“Huh?”

“There was no shortage of bodies where you found me. Why’d you choose me?”

“Like I said: it’s a feeling. You’ve probably noticed you can tell what I’m feeling, and I can feel what you do. Emotionally speaking anyway. The Light chooses the Guardians, I carry the Light, when I find whoever the Light chooses, it’s like a pull. And then I give them - you - some of my Light. The Light looks for four things: devotion, bravery, sacrifice, and death. As The Speaker would say:  _ ‘Devotion inspires bravery, bravery inspires sacrifice, sacrifice leads to death’ _ .”

Jay thought on it for a long while, “...That reminds me of my love… he was so brave and devoted to protecting the people he loved… he died saving my life…”

“There’s always a chance a Ghost has found him,” Libra offered, “He sounds like Guardian material to me.”

“Yeah…”

-x-x-x-

Jay was still not prepared when Libra transmatted him from the ship into the courtyard of The Tower. 

“C’mon, the Vanguard will want to meet you!” Libra exclaimed, dashing off towards some stairs leading down into the command center. 

Jay followed, avoiding the way the other people in the courtyard looked at him. 

“Ikora!” Libra called.

A tall woman in purple robes turned and smiled, “A pleasure to see you again Ghost. How goes the search?”

“My search is over! My name is Libra, and this is Jay,” she spun in the air to face Jay as he finally caught up, “He’s a Warlock! Jay, this is Ikora, the Warlock Vanguard.”

Ikora bowed her head in greeting, “A pleasure, Jay. I’m sure you have many questions.” She turned and indicated the two others standing at the table… staring at him, “Cayde-6, the Hunter Vanguard, and Zavala, the Titan Vanguard and Commander of the City Guard.”

Libra hadn’t warned him of people with  _ blue  _ skin, or robotic looking humans. They certainly hadn’t been a thing before he’d died. He got the feeling that it would be rude to comment and simply nodded a greeting in their direction. 

“So, Guardian,” the robot, Cayde, spoke first, “First trip to our little Tower here isn’t always easy, how’d you manage?”

Jay shrugged, “We didn’t meet any Fallen on the way… however…. Libra? The cloak?” Libra transmatted the cloak and knife onto the table, “We found another Guardian who wasn’t so lucky…”

Cayde hummed and took them, but didn’t say anything. 

Jay looked back at Ikora, “I didn’t want this,” he said simply, “Libra says I’m not supposed to remember, but I do. I remember everything. I remember being  _ happy  _ where I was, with the people I loved…”

“You want to go back,” Ikora surmised and smiled kindly, “Come with me.”

She walked towards the grand window at the back of the room and stopped in front of it, looking over… the biggest city Jay had ever seen. 

“Much has changed since you last lived. This is the last truly  _ safe  _ city on this planet.”

Jay watched a ship similar to the one that was his now fly  _ up _ and  _ out of orbit.  _

“The Traveler,” she gestured to the huge white  _ sphere  _ hovering over what appeared to be the center of the city, “has given us gifts, but also brought great darkness with it. The Darkness would stop at nothing to destroy the Traveler’s Light. So to protect  _ us  _ and itself, all at once,” she looked at Libra hovering over Jay’s shoulder, “it created the Ghosts from a piece of itself. And now? It is our duty to protect the people of this City and the Traveler.”

Jay looked over his shoulder, Cayde and Zavala were talking and he turned back to Ikora, “Everyone I knew… even before, everyone I  _ loved  _ was dead… I was  _ ready  _ to die, I remember that. I was ready to go back to the people I cared for. Ready for the pain to stop. And now? Now I’m some…  _ immortal  _ Guardian?” He sighed, “I just want to go home…”

Ikora laid a hand on his shoulder, “I’m sorry to hear about your pain. But you’ve been  _ reborn _ in the Light, and that cannot be undone. You’re a Guardian now. Zavala would say to forget the past, but the people we love that are gone are just as much a part of our present as the people we have yet to meet are part of our future. I know it hurts, but you must hold them with you, and let them remind you why you fight.”

Jay took a breath and closed his eyes and then looked out over the City, the Traveler, “Okay. I understand. Thank you.”

Ikora nodded, “Here,” she held out her hands and robes materialized in them, “As you and your Ghost fight, your bond will grow as you do, and Libra will be able to create stronger armor and weapons for you from the materials you find. But for now, these should suffice.”

Jay took the bundle, “Thank you… but… what do I do now?”

“See the Speaker, your Ghost can take you to him.” Jay nodded and turned to leave. 

Libra first led him to a private room where he could change into his new armor. He hesitated with the bond, a simple piece of cloth with a short metal band. 

He felt a spark of concern from Libra and sighed as he looked up at her, “I just….. I’m tired… I’m tired of missing the people I love. And this,” he holds up the bond to indicate it, “it just… it makes it all feel so… it just…. makes it seem that much more real, that much more  _ final _ …”

“But Ikora-“

“ _ I know  _ what Ikora said, and she’s right, they are still part of my present. But that doesn’t mean it doesn’t still hurt…” Jay stuffed the bond in a pocket and sighed before stepping out of the room. 

-x-x-x-

“Hello, Guardian,” Jay spotted the Speaker on a platform overlooking the room, moving down the stairs towards him, “Ah, you must have many questions… I am the one who speaks for the Traveler, until it finds its voice.”

“You… speak  _ for  _ the Traveler,” Jay repeated, “So… if I asked you why it picked  _ me,  _ would you know the answer?”

The Speaker laughed, “The Traveler does not speak  _ to  _ me.”

“So you’re more of a priest,” Jay surmised, “one who spreads the word of the god or goddess, or whatever they believe in, based on texts, studies, and oral history.”

The Speaker tilted his head, “Yes. The Traveler chose you because it saw inside you a willingness to wield its Light to protect the people of this City.”

Jay dropped his eyes, “Has the Traveler ever been wrong…?”

“No,” The Speaker answered simply, “Why? Do you feel that this is a mistake?”

“Yes. No?” Jay sighed, “Libra says I’m not supposed to remember anything about my previous life… everyone else says I’ve been  _ reborn.  _ But I remember everything. Even the afterlife.”

The Speaker hummed, “It is very rare that a Guardian remembers. Only a few documented cases.”

“Before I died… I had nothing. No one to go home to, no purpose to get me out of bed beside my ability to save lives. And now…”

“You feel even that purpose is gone.”

“Everyone I knew is gone. Everyone I fought to protect. Everything I ever cared about…” Jay wasn’t sure  _ why  _ he was spilling all of this  _ now,  _ other than the fact that he just  _ needed  _ to say it, “And then I died, and I was with my family and my friends and my  _ husband _ . I was  _ happy _ .” His throat was tight with emotion as he remembered them. “Ikora says I should let them remind me why I fight… I’ve done that already, in my previous life. I’m  _ tired  _ of fighting _ .  _ I just want to go home…”

The Speaker hummed, “Come, sit, meditate with me.”

Jay sighed and followed as The Speaker led him to a couple of floor pillows and knelt on one, gesturing to the one across from him. Jay copied The Speaker’s position and knelt on the pillow. 

“You are a protector. A Warlock with the heart of a Titan. There is a place outside of the City where you can train and discover what you can do… but first… you need a purpose, something to believe in.”

“Yes…” Jay responded quietly, “If this is going to be my life now… I need a reason for it to be.”

The Speaker bowed his head in acknowledgment, “Explore the City, Guardian. I cannot tell you what you should fight for. Not all Guardians fight for the Traveler, not all Guardians were meant to. The Light lives in all places, in all  _ things _ . It finds its way. The Traveler protects itself through us, and the Traveler’s purpose is to protect life, but it is wounded and dormant now and humanity struggles to fight back the darkness without it. People are losing faith in it. It’s last breath was to create the Ghosts, so that they could find Guardians to continue its work.”


	2. The City

He had taken The Speaker’s advice, he would walk the City, see its people, hopefully remind himself that  _ these  _ people deserved his help as much as  _ his  _ had. But first he needed to blend in. So he found himself some clothes that weren’t armored, and reminded him of who he used to be.  _ A healer _ .  _ A protector _ , Speaker had called him. He couldn’t disagree, he  _ had _ died protecting people after all. His life’s work, however, had been to heal  _ and  _ protect. He hoped he still could. 

Libra floated along beside him, flitting between stands and vendors, earning him looks like he was something to be revered, like his presence here was  _ special _ . Jay hated it. He wasn’t  _ special _ . He didn’t  _ want  _ to be a Guardian, he wanted to be  _ dead _ . 

That thought gave him pause. Before, a thought like that would’ve horrified him. He was shocked at himself for  _ meaning _ it this time. 

He stuffed his hands in his pockets, kept his head down, and kept walking. He saw kids playing with a ball in a field. It didn’t make him smile like it once would’ve. It made him  _ sad _ . 

Didn’t he deserve to be that happy? He had been a good person, had tried to be at least. He had saved lives, even those who had tried to take  _ his _ . He had only frozen and failed once and that had been his  _ husband. Haven’t I been punished enough.  _

He looked around at the people going about their lives around him. He could almost  _ sense  _ an overwhelming fear and anxiety in  _ all  _ of them. He had always been empathetic, able to tell how people were feeling. But this was different. He could feel the emotions of people he couldn’t  _ see _ . People he didn’t even  _ know _ . Maybe he could not yet be happy. But…  _ something  _ stirred in him, told him he could do something  _ now _ . He had no reason not to. 

Jay ducked into an alley and planted his feet. He focused on the  _ pull  _ and breathed, then added the swirl of emotion around him to it, he forced a calm over himself, visualized all of his stress and sadness leaving him in a single breath, and then he let the pull go. 

When he opened his eyes there was a gently pulsing circle of light, moving like calm waves on a beach. And he was standing in the center. 

“Libra?” He asked curiously, “What is this?”

“It’s a Rift.” Libra answered, and scanned it, “but it’s… different than the ones I’ve seen other Warlocks make. This one feels like… like a comfort, like someone saying ‘it’s gonna be okay’.”

“Can I make it bigger?”

Libra paused, “You can try… but why?”

“Everyone is so scared and upset… if this…  _ Rift _ can make them feel better, even for just a little bit, I want it to.”

Libra appeared to nod, then moved towards him as she phased. He heard her in his head then, “You’ll need my help, it’s gonna take a lot of Light.”

Jay breathed and brought the  _ calm _ back down, focused on the rift below him, pictured himself planting his hands against its walls and  _ pushing.  _ It was difficult, like pushing a cargo truck with the parking brake on. But slowly  _ oh so slowly  _ it gave inch by inch, before whatever was holding it back failed against him and it  _ spread _ . He opened his eyes to see the Light drifting gently in the air like a light snow. He smiled and stepped out of the alley to observe the people around him again. 

They were smiling, marveling at the particles of Light drifting around them, bringing a calm joy to everyone who caught one. 

If this was something he could do. If he could make people feel better in a way he’d never been able to before. Maybe this wouldn’t be so bad. 

He was  _ exhausted  _ from the struggle to expand it so much, but it was worth it. He made his way back to the Tower, asking Libra on the way about the new world he found himself in. About the Awoken, and the Exos, the Guardians, The Traveler, he had a lot to catch up on. 

Through it all, though, was this nagging thought, a nagging  _ anxiety  _ that he  _ tried  _ to ignore. He decided silently that he wouldn’t get attached. Guardians were immortal but not unkillable. Jay wasn’t sure he’d be able to take a personal loss like that again. So he avoided looking at the other Guardians around him as he made his way to the apartment he’d been given and ignored anyone who tried to greet him. He wouldn’t look for a fireteam, he wouldn’t formally  _ join  _ one. He would assist other Guardians, but he would not call them his fireteam or his friends. It would be better that way. 

He could fight for the people of this City, but love? That was something he would never be able to do. Not here, not now. Not unless… No, he couldn’t get his hopes up either. Even if he was… the chances he’d remember… it just wasn’t possible. 

-x-x-x-

The next day found him in the field The Speaker had told him about. There were other Guardians there, some grouped up with an apparently more experienced Guardian for a lesson of some sort. There were sparring bots around the edges. The field was scorched and torn by previous Guardians discovering their power. There was a circle of Warlocks off to the side, sitting on their knees, apparently meditating. There were Hunters throwing a flaming knife between themselves until it exploded and the unfortunate Guardian had to be revived. He and his friends only laughed and continued their game. 

Jay wasn’t sure where to start with his self training. Maybe he’d start simple. A couple laps around the field, then some other physical exercises. Something he was used to, something he knew. 

“Y’know,” Libra commented from  _ wherever  _ she disappeared to when she did so, “A lot of Guardians have trouble figuring anything out until they need it.”

“What are you suggesting?” 

“There’s a Guardian named Shaxx, he runs a competition called The Crucible. A lot of Guardians use it as a sort of… live fire training. There’s different levels of it, some Guardians play competitively, kind of like those old sports people used to play. Others do it for the training and experience. Some just do it for fun.”

Jay nodded thoughtfully, “I don’t know where to start trying to figure any of this out, maybe the Crucible is a good idea.”

“ _ Of course  _ it’s a good idea!” Libra exclaimed, “You’re my  _ Guardian _ , I’d never steer you wrong.

-x-x-x-

The Crucible, it turned out, was very similar to the ‘war games’ that they used to play for training in the old military. Jay wasn’t sure how he felt about calling it the  _ old  _ military. 

In fact, the only difference between this and the old war games, was that the bullets were real, and so were grenades, and the participants had  _ super powers _ . 

Jay had nearly fallen on his face the first time he glided after jumping for a platform. 

Of course, along with the lethal elements, came the fact that their Ghosts would always resurrect them. The first time, Jay supposed it might as well be considered the  _ second _ , was incredibly disorienting. So was the second (third?) time. Jay wasn’t sure he’d ever get used to it. 

He ducked behind a low wall in time for the space he’d previously occupied to be pelted with bullets.  _ Grenade.  _ He focused, brought his fire into his palm and focused his intention for it into it. And then he threw it over the wall. It burst into a  _ miniature sun _ , and a few seconds later Libra gave him a notification on his HUD to let him know that he’d taken care of the attacking Guardian. The tracker in the corner of his vision would take getting used to. 

A Guardian Libra labeled as a teammate slid down into cover next to him, breaths ragged. Jay focused again and planted his feet. He focused on what he had always done,  _ healing _ , and a rift of Light opened beneath them, flowing in a gentle circle, mending the wounded Guardian. He received a thankful nod before the Guardian vaulted over the wall, weapon ready. Libra notified him that standing, uninjured, in the rift was granting him an overshield, enhancing his armor’s innate Light powered shields. He stood in the rift for as long as it lasted, covering his teammates as they fought other Guardians, providing a small amount of extra damage in an otherwise even fight. 

A flash of red on the tracker reminded him to check behind himself. Jay spun on his heel, gathering the fire in his palm again,  _ too close to throw, grenade isn’t ready, unarmed strike?,  _ he struck out with his open palm of fire. The body flew back before it was incinerated by the flames. Jay nearly choked on his breath and had to remind himself that the Ghost would revive her, the other Guardian, the other  _ person _ , was fine. He hunkered down behind his piece of cover and squeezed his eyes shut, trying to force the image from his head. 

Libra appeared in front of him, “Jay? Are you okay?”

Jay shook his head, weapon falling from his hands as he planted his hands over his ears, trying to block everything out. 

“Jay!” Libra shouted through the noise in his head, “Breathe! Get up!”

Jay let out a strangled breath, the panic was swallowing him and he couldn’t drag it back. 

“Jay,” she was calmer this time and Jay forced his eyes open, there was another Guardian kneeling by him, “Jay the game’s over, it’s okay. Breathe Guardian.”

The Guardian pulled her helmet off, female Awoken, and pulled his off as well.

“Guardian?” She asked softly, “It’s alright. You’re okay… just focus on me.”

He did, her armor was familiar… this was the Guardian he’d incinerated…. 

“I-I’m sorry…” he mumbled.

“Hey, you’re alright,” she assured, smiling at him, “You must be new to this… don’t worry, I’m okay, so are you, and so is everyone else. Just breathe, you’ll be okay.”

Jay followed her instructions, he slowed his breath, focused on her words,  _ I’m okay…  _ “S-sorry…” he apologized again, “I  _ am  _ new… this is all…”

“Don’t worry, I understand. It happens to all of us. Your team won, by the way.” 

“Thanks…” 

-x-x-x-

“Jay?” Libra asked quietly, “...You’ve been awfully quiet… are you okay?”

Jay sighed, “No. I don’t know if I can do this. I was never a killer or a fighter, I always  _ hated  _ hurting people… I don’t think I’ll be participating in the Crucible again… I just… can’t get it out of my head. I  _ know  _ she’s fine, she probably doesn’t even remember what I did, she probably doesn’t even  _ care.  _ But  _ I do.  _ And it’s not something I’m okay with.”

“Maybe tomorrow we go patrol the Wilds, find some Hunters looking for some backup and go out with them?”

“Maybe…” Jay laid back, folding one arm under his head, “Maybe we go alone, I dunno that I’m ready for other people to trust their lives to me…”

“Okay…” Libra said softly, “It’s okay, y’know… to not  _ be  _ okay… the important thing is that you get up anyway. Not right now, now is the time for rest, but later, when it matters.”

Jay was silent and Libra continued, “Ghosts are born knowing their who their Guardians are. Not in the sense of a name or appearance or history, because none of that matters anymore, if it ever did. We know who our Guardians are supposed to be, on the inside.  _ You,  _ I know, are a healer, a protector, so loyal and kind and determined. You’d  _ never  _ let anyone get hurt if you could help it, even if it meant you’d die. That’s who you are. You are the very  _ definition  _ of a Guardian.”

Jay sighed, “Mend the broken, make strong the weak, fight against evil with no hesitation,” he said simply, “It was in a story my mum read to me as a kid… I can’t remember the full name of it, just that it was  _ called _ ‘The Guardians’.”

“Searching Old World databanks…” Libra said after a moment and Jay looked at her curiously, “The Guardians of Ga’hoole? About a band of owls, and a great tree?”

Jay sat up, “Yeah, that’s the one,” he said with a wistful smile, “It was one of my favorites growing up… the main character, Soren, he  _ always  _ believed in The Guardians-even though it was just a story his parents told him and his siblings-when things got hard for him, he turned to the story of The Guardians, let the  _ idea  _ of them give him hope and a will to fight against the darkness falling around him, suffocating him and his family.”

Jay felt a soft pride from Libra, “I think it’s one of my favorites too,” she said eventually, “Get some rest, Jay. Tomorrow we go to the wilds, so you can see what darkness humanity is facing.”

-x-x-x-

“What did you say they were?” Jay asked curiously, looking through his binoculars at the strange four-armed aliens.

“Eliksni,” Libra said, “These are Fallen, specifically. Not all Eliksni are Fallen, but all Fallen are Eliksni. Only the Fallen will shoot you on sight.”

“Right…” Jay commented dully, “And what  _ are  _ the Eliksni?”

“Scavengers from another world,” Libra explained, “they worship technology and machines. A lot of them are obsessed with The Traveler. See the big floaty orb thing? That’s a servitor, they provide the Eliksni with ether, their sustenance. Eliksni worship them as priests and gods.”

Jay nodded slowly, “Okay… Last question: why would the Fallen shoot on sight? Is it self-defense, malice, defense of territory?”

“... I don’t know,” Libra answered after a moment, “I just know that they do, and no Guardian has ever been able to reason with them.”

Jay frowned, “Have any  _ tried _ ?”

“Yes. I know what you’re thinking. Don’t do it.”

Jay looked at her for a moment and stood up, leaving his weapons holstered as he approached the aliens. Libra stayed where she was, giving an exasperated sigh as the marauder shoved one of its blades through Jay’s chest, easily breaking through his flimsy armor and killing him. 

He woke, coughing up the blood from his throat, gasping for air as Libra mended him. 

“Point made,” Jay agreed begrudgingly as he laid there, catching his breath. 

“I believe the Fallen despise humanity,” Libra guessed, “There are a lot of theories. One suggests they’re  _ jealous _ that the Traveler gave  _ humans _ its blessing, but not them.”

Jay got up with a groan. “Well… either way. Everyone made it seem like they were on our doorstep, clawing their way in… but we haven’t seen that many, and I saw  _ none _ when you first revived me…”

“We’re in what people call ‘The Age of Triumph’,” Libra explained, floating over Jay’s shoulder as he walked, the Fallen he’d  _ tried  _ to talk to had run off after killing him, “A few years ago, a Guardian rose up and defeated the kells of the Houses threatening The City. No one knows who they are, they don’t talk much, a stark contrast to their Ghost. But Lord Saladin calls him the Young Wolf.”

“But?”

“The people of The City are getting nervous, losing faith in the Traveler and in the Guardians… something is coming, they feel it, and so do I… Cayde’s the only Vanguard that believes it.”

“Zavala and Ikora aren’t preparing or anything?” Jay asked in surprise. 

“No… why would they? Ikora has her Hidden and the satellites, Zavala has the Wall and the entire force of Guardians behind him, they think that it’s enough.”

Jay shook his head, “They’re complacent. Things change and threats evolve and come in many different ways and forms…”

Jay kicked something as he walked and nearly tripped before looking down at what had caught his foot. There were scattered planks, ruined tents and sleeping bags. Bodies. Human bodies. 

“Libra….” Jay breathed, “What is this….”

“Looks like a civilian caravan…” Libra answered, scanning some of the bodies and the damage, “The damage is consistent with Fallen arc weapons…”

“I thought the City was self sufficient, what were they doing all the way out here…”

“Some people don’t like living in the City, so they leave, sneak out and settle elsewhere. Every so often we might stumble across a camp like this, some are more permanent, using old buildings, others like this one are nomadic. The people that live out here are threatened the most by the Fallen.”

Jay inspected the bodies and the area around them. The civilians had been armed, they’d put up a fight, but they didn’t stand a chance. They had been wiped out, and their supplies and camp ransacked. 

“Can you find the Fallen that did this?”

“Scanning…” 

Jay pulled his weapon from his shoulder and waited for the moment it took Libra to respond.

“Setting waypoint,” Libra said before she dematerialized to hide in his backpack. 

Jay followed the point to a deep cave. It was crawling with Fallen. Dregs, wretches, vandals, marauders, and two captains. Jay wiped them out, calling his Dawnblade to his hand as the captains broke through his flimsy shields. And once they were dealt with, he found staches of stolen supplies and trinkets from the caravan they’d massacred. He set a beacon.  _ Someone  _ out there would be able to make use of it. 

“What’s next?” Jay wondered as he exited the cave. 

“I dunno… how do you feel?”

Jay shrugged, “Honestly? I’m having trouble making myself  _ care.” _ He sighed, “No, that’s not… I  _ care,  _ it’s just… there are so  _ many  _ Guardians out here already. I’m not convinced that I’m needed.”

“But what about that caravan if you’d, if  _ I  _ had found y-“

Jay sighed and shook his head, “No, Libra,” he smiled sadly, “I learned a  _ long  _ time ago that you can’t save them all. I don’t think I could’ve stopped this.”

“But-“

“No buts,” Jay cut her off, “Lets just… go back to the City... bring the ship around.”

** _A/N: Okay that should be it for the exposition for a while, but there might still be some sprinkled here and there. _ **

** _Thanks for Reading, Fly High Aim Higher_ **

** _~Spitfire out _ **


	3. Ghaul

“Repeat, Tower Approach, this is City Hawk Seven-Two-Three, on approach.” Libra hummed at the static and Jay felt her concern, “No response on  _ any  _ channels, even the  _ emergency  _ frequencies are dead…” 

Now  _ Jay  _ was feeling nervous, “Floor it, Li, I have a bad feeling about this.”

“Consider it floored.”

They broke through the stormfront and Jay’s stomach dropped.  _ The City was under attack.  _ Smoke rose from the Tower and all across the City and there was some strange  _ device _ attached to the Traveler. Libra transmatted him into the Tower and Jay readied his weapons. 

“Let’s go! We need to find the Vanguard!”

Jay nodded at her and ran into the destroyed halls of the Tower. 

He paused in shock as he saw some  _ hulking  _ alien dash forward and impale one of the security frames on its wrist-mounted blade. 

Jay dropped it with a few well placed shots as Libra identified it, “Cabal?! This doesn’t make sense, the Cabal conquer systems by  _ blowing up _ planets!”

Jay continued forwards, taking out whatever cabal he came across as he went. 

“Whatever they want must be  _ here,  _ in the Last City.”

Jay paused and looked at her as he remembered the thing attached to the Traveler, he shook his head and kept running, “It’s the Traveler, they want the Traveler.”

“This is Commander Zavala. Civilians: report to evac points. Guardians: rendezvous in the Plaza. Our City will not fall.”

The message burst over the comms and Jay kept running and shooting. They met Cayde next. The Hunter Vanguard took out three cabal soldiers with his super and transmatted to his ship, leaving Jay to continue on. 

Shaxx was next, comforting a group of civilians. 

He stood as Jay approached, “Warlock! My armory is open to you. The path will take you through the hanger to the plaza. I’ll take care of these people. If the Cabal want war,  _ give them war.” _

Jay nodded at Shaxx, “I plan on it.”

He looked at the people around him and down at his hands. He focused his energy into the first rift he’d discovered,  _ the calming rift  _ Libra called it, and stamped it down before entering the armory. 

He took a better pair of weapons and continued on. 

On the hanger’s viewing platform Jay spotted a  _ huge _ ship. 

“That must be their command ship! It’s heading towards the Traveler, let’s go!”

Jay only paid minimal attention to the chatter between the Vanguard, only picking the important parts. 

_ Red Legion.  _

_ Never known defeat.  _

_ The Traveler waits. _

Jay frowned.  _ We protect our people! _

Jay had been under the impression that the Traveler protected people itself. If they could just get the Cabal away from it, maybe…No, Zavala was right, the Traveler was dormant and the Cabal were threatening civilians. The Traveler would  _ have _ to wait. Besides, the civilians and Cabal were between them and it. Protect the civilians, kill the cabal, save the Traveler. They could do all three. 

Jay met up with Zavala in the plaza he’d first arrived at and immediately started shooting the cabal.

“Do not let them past this point! The evac shuttles are back there!” Zavala called as Jay sheltered inside his shield from the missiles. 

_ That _ was something Jay could do. 

He felt a surge of energy and called his sword to his hand as pods containing Cabal squadrons pummeled the courtyard. 

He swung it towards them in a wide arc, launching  _ waves  _ of fire at them. The first wave fell easily against his Dawnblade. The second fell just as easily against his guns and abilities before he had to shelter in Zavala’s shield again, taking the moment to catch his breath and reload his weapons. 

“We hold here! That command ship is next on my list!” Zavala called as the next pods landed. 

Jay and Zavala easily handled the next wave as well. 

“Zavala!” Ikora called over their comm link, “The last shuttle is away, but The Speaker never made it, I’m going to look for him!”

“I’ve got the plaza,” Zavala said directly to Jay, “Go with Ikora, find the Speaker!”

Jay nodded at him and rushed in the direction of the Speaker’s tower. He could hear the thunder of missiles raining against Zavala’s shield as he made it past the threshold that would lead him to the Tower North. And as he made it to where the Speaker’s study was  _ supposed to be  _ Jay raised his rifle against the Cabal standing there, only for the aliens to explode in a shower of Void as Ikora glided down towards him. 

_ The Speaker’s study is destroyed… was he inside?  _ “Ikora…” Jay started to ask.

“The Speaker is gone!” She cried, and the two Guardians turned as a Cabal jumpship leveled at them, “Red Legion, you will take no more from us!” She launched herself into the air and reared back, hand full of pulsating purple Void  _ power _ , “And you will find no mercy in me!” She let loose, destroying one of the ship’s thrusters as she landed on the fuselage. 

“Zavala-“ Libra started. 

“She’ll find the Speaker! We need to move on that command ship! Now head to the North Tower courtyard, I’m sending Amanda Holiday to pick you up!”

There were Cabal with  _ flamethrowers  _ between him and his destination. Jay had never been a marksman, not like… that didn’t matter, it was easy enough to target the giant fuel canisters on the Cabal’s back and make it explode, taking out the regular legionaries near it. 

Jay thought idly as he ran that maybe in this new life he could  _ make  _ himself a marksman. He came into the courtyard and saw one of the shielded legionnaires, one Libra tagged as a Centurion. He’d noticed earlier that his solar powered sidearm caused the shields these Cabal were using to  _ explode _ , damaging the enemies closest to it as well as causing major damage to the Centurion as well. 

Jay took aim and fired until the shield burst, then switched back to his rifle to finish them off as a City ship swooped down and hovered off the edge of the balcony. 

“Someone told me you need a ride!” A female voice called over the comms and Libra transmatted him aboard the ship. 

It was only moments before he could hear Holiday yelling for him to hold on.

It was indeed a rough ride, but it wasn’t long before the movement halted and Holiday was encouraging him to ‘ _ kick ‘em where it hurts’ _ . Jay thought he liked her personality as Libra transmatted him onto the deck of the ship. 

“Okay!” Libra said as Jay finished off the first of the Cabal, “We need to destroy the shield generator so City ordinance can bombard the ship. That hologram looks like a map, let me see that terminal!” 

Jay held out his hand for her to materialize in his palm and held her out to the computer, she floated off and started interacting with it and Jay returned his hand to his weapon, looking around carefully, lest they be caught off guard. 

“Alright! The generator should be at the bottom of the ship! Let’s go!” 

She disappeared and Jay ran ahead, following her directions.

It was a grueling fight, including a Cabal with shields he couldn’t burst. But he eventually made it onto a large deck. He paused at the number of enemies now shooting at him and took cover. 

He launched a grenade behind a group of Cabal with large physical shields labeled Phalanxes and waited for it to detonate before swinging himself over the cover, taking shots at whatever Cabal he could. There were tiny ones, clearly a different species altogether that Libra labeled Psions. They didn’t take many shots to kill, but their aim was almost as deadly as the rifles they carried. A single shot from one disintegrated his shield and Jay dove behind cover before they could hurt him further. It didn’t take long for Libra to recharge the shield to full capacity, which was lucky as a Cabal rounded the corner searching for him. Jay lashed out with his palm full of fire and the Cabal soldier was incinerated. 

Jay dashed out of cover and continued following Libra’s markers, straight towards what looked like some sort of commander. Jay called his Dawnblade to his hand and easily finished them off. 

He moved slower towards the door catching his breath as he moved, there wasn’t a moment to lose. So he kept his rifle up and ready as he walked through the door. 

There were a few levels to jump down, the landings patrolled by incindiors and psions. He took careful shots to the fuel packs, and the psions went down at the same time as their larger counterparts. Jay stepped off the platform and used the gliding power he’d discovered during the Crucible to slow his fall and land lightly on the floor. 

“Okay!” Libra exclaimed readily, “The generator should be just ahead!”

Jay moved forward slowly, this couldn’t feel like  _ more  _ of an ambush. He readied a grenade in one hand, drawing his sidearm in the other as the door slid open and a Cabal with a blue shield leaped at him. Jay shouted in surprise and leaped back, tossing the grenade at the floor where he’d just been, it incinerated the war beasts and psions that had accompanied the commander, but barely left a dent in the big guy’s shield. 

Jay took cover behind a support beam as he was shot at. 

After a few minutes of ducking, weaving, and shooting, he finally killed the hulking alien and took off to where he could  _ just  _ see the edge of what had to be the generator. 

He slowed as he approached it, quickly trying to think of how he was going to destroy this thing. 

“Shoot the turbines!” Libra instructed, “The generator will overheat and explode!”

Jay nodded and aimed at the turbine he could see spinning below, he shot it until smoke came billowing through that vent, then glided over to another platform across the room. He could see both of the other turbines from here. He destroyed them as easily as the first. 

It got hot  _ fast _ and Libra opened the door behind him as she called to Zavala,  _ anyone  _ to pick up the comm. They got nothing but static as Jay emerged onto the deck of the ship, he could see the Traveler, that  _ thing  _ locked around it… He had a bad feeling about this. 

“How do we come back from this…” Libra wondered, looking out over the City up in flames. 

Jay was about to respond when a voice boomed behind him, “ _ You don’t.” _

Jay turned on his heel, weapon raised to face the largest Cabal yet, wearing pristine white armor, flanked by two only slightly smaller cabal in red with crests on their backs.  _ Shit.  _

_ “Welcome to a world without Light,” _ The leader sneered. 

Jay felt like his heart was in a vice made of ice. 

“ _ Guardian,”  _ Libra sounded…  _ wrong _ ,” Something’s wrong…”

She dropped to the floor as Jay stumbled. He saw a phantom of himself briefly before it dissipated and Jay collapsed to his knees. He felt like the breath and  _ life  _ were being  _ torn  _ from his chest.  _ Libra. He would need her if he was gonna win this.  _ He reached out and clutched her shell, dragging her close protectively with what little strength he could muster.  _ Something is definitely wrong.  _ It felt like everything had been drained from him. Like if he dared to close his eyes he’d pass out and maybe never wake up. It was tempting. To see his loved ones again… He looked up as the Cabal leader stood over him.  _ The Light is gone. They’ll need all the help they can get to save as many lives as they can… they’ll need me.  _

“Do not  _ look  _ at me,  _ creature _ ,” the Cabal growled, and kicked him hard. 

Jay grunted and was thrown across the deck. He felt ribs give against the force of the kick. His weapons skidded across the ground, where he had no hope of reaching them in a fight. 

Jay forced himself up and was nearly upright as Ghaul approached him again, “You are  _ weak _ .  _ Undisciplined _ .  _ Cowering _ behind walls. You’re not brave. You’ve merely  _ forgotten _ the fear of death…  _ Allow me to reacquaint you…”  _ before Jay could retort a huge fist collided with his chest. 

Next thing Jay was aware of Libra was falling into the night in the City.  _ No…  _ Jay gripped his aching ribs and forced himself up onto his knees as he turned to look at the City’s attacker. 

“Your kind never deserved the power you were given…” he taunted, leaning in close, “I am  _ Ghaul.  _ And your Light?” He paused, likely grinning under that mask, “ _ Is mine.” _

Ghaul planted a foot against his torso and shoved. 

-x-x-x-

_ “This one’s alive!” _

_ “Help me move him!” _

_ ……  _

_ “Just leave him! We don’t have the supplies to care for anyone else!” _

_ “Please…… -find his Ghost… help us… out… evacuated… -owhere to go…” _

_ ………… _

_ “-not mine… sorry.” _

_ A sigh.  _

_ “He won’t last much longer without his Ghost…” _

_ “The Light is gone. I doubt his Ghost can do anything at all, assuming it’s even alive.” _

_ “-ould’ve lef- wh- -im.” _

_ ……… _

_ ………… _

He had barely been alive when they found him. Of course, his injuries were extensive to say the least and there wasn’t much they could do for him but search for his Ghost and hope it was still alive. They’d found a few on their supply runs and brought them back to the hideout, only to find that they hadn’t found the right one yet. 

_ This would be a lot easier if he could tell us his name.  _ Alice thought with a sigh as she mopped the sweat from the Guardian’s brow. They  _ really  _ didn’t have the supplies to keep this up much longer. As Sarya was so  _ keen  _ to remind her. 

“Alice!” Lionel called softly, “Time for another patrol. You coming?”

Alice looked up at him, “Yeah, yeah, I’m comin’ give me a second to get my stuff.”

The Cabal patrols were difficult to avoid, but they’d lived on these streets their entire lives, so skirting down allies and hiding in the banks of a drained river was easy enough that this small group of civilians had managed to survive two weeks after the initial attack. 

They picked along the river slowly, halting under a crashed legion ship to avoid the spotlight of another one flying overhead. 

“ _ Guardian?!”  _

Alice winced at the volume of the Ghost and easily spotted it a little further down. She was scanning and shining a light all over. Once the ship above moved on Alice rushed ahead to the Ghost.

“Hey!” She called softly, “Keep it down! There are Cabal everywhere!”

The Ghost turned to her sharply in surprise and scanned her, “Lightless! What are you doing here? The City’s been evacuated!”

“We’re surviving, this is our  _ home _ ,” Alice answered, “Look, you’re lookin’ for your Guardian right?” She gestured behind herself to Lionel standing back a ways, “We found one a couple weeks ago, we haven’t found his Ghost yet, but he’s hurt real bad, been unconscious since we found ‘im.”

“Take me to him.” Libra demanded, before phasing into the woman’s pack. 

-x-x-x-

Alice entered the hideout carefully behind Lionel, taking her time to ensure the entrance was hidden as the Ghost flew from its hiding place and spun in place as if searching. 

She turned to the open hall and walked, gesturing for the Ghost to follow, “This way little Light… I sure hope you’re the one, I’m not sure how much longer this Guardian can hold on…”

“If this  _ is  _ my Guardian…” Libra spoke as if she sure it would be, “Then I believe that you will all be okay. You may be exactly what he needs.”

“I’d ask, but we’re here,” Alice stopped at a door and placed a hand on the handle, “And I suspect you don’t want to wait any longer.”

Jay grimaced in his sleep as Sary’n dabbed at his forehead. 

The person turned around as they heard the door open, “Alice! Thank the Traveler you’re back… I think the fever is getting worse…”

A Ghost zipped in ahead, “Jay!” She immediately called and started to scan the unconscious Guardian, “ _ Thank the Light, I’ve been looking everywhere!” _

Sary’n stood and looked at Alice. 

“This is your Guardian then?” Alice asked hopefully. 

“Yes! His name is Jay!” Libra spun to look at the pair before going back to scanning Jay’s injuries, and giving a disappointing series of bleeps, “There’s… not enough Light left in either of us for me to fully heal him… but… I can fix the worst of it.” She muttered to herself after that as she pulsed time and time again.  _ Spinal damage, ooh brain damage, that one's pretty bad. Ribs, lungs, heart. Check check check. Broken bones.. oh that’s a nasty infection let’s see…  _ Libra sighed, “I’ve done what I can… but he should be okay…”

Sary’n and Alice sighed with relief, “Good. Sarya and Hanover can stop complaining about us rescuing him.”

Sary’n nodded in agreement, “I’m glad he’s okay,” they smiled, “but we  _ are  _ running low on supplies, to be fair to the others.”

Alice sighed, “Yeah yeah, I  _ know _ , but this is a  _ Guardian. _ He’s worth the investment, he can  _ help us.” _

“But  _ will he _ ?” A voice questioned from the door and the pair turned to see a stern woman wearing tattered clothes like the rest of them aside from the hijab covering her head. 

“Yes,” the Ghost said, finally turning away from her Guardian to address the civilians, “ _ My  _ Guardian  _ lives  _ for this. This is exactly what he needs. A purpose. To help you survive. But not  _ just  _ you, everyone he can. It is what he  _ does _ . It’s why I chose him.”

Sarya stares at the Ghost for a long moment, holding its gaze, as if testing its commitment, before giving a nod and entering the room, “Then I hope that you are right. For  _ all  _ our sakes.”

Libra spun and looked at her Guardian. “I’m not wrong… but he… he’s only just been woken up a few days before the attack… and he’s been struggling for a purpose since the moment I found him…” she scanned him and he groaned in his sleep, face scrunching as Libra chirped in surprise. 

Slowly, Jay blinked his eyes open, squinting at the Ghost hovering over him, “Libra…?” He asked slowly, his voice soft and weak with pain. 

“Jay!” Libra exclaimed, “I’m so glad you’re okay! I thought I’d lost you!”

Jay grunted and hauled himself upright, rubbing at his head, “Wh-“ his eyes widened suddenly and he immediately got to his feet, only to fall back to sit on the edge of where he’d been laid out, eyes closed as his head swam and he felt as he’d pass out again any moment. “Ghaul… we-“ he looked up, finally noticing the civilians standing around looking at him, “Oh… what… where are we? Who are you all?”

A woman with bright red hair, at least Jay assumed it was bright, under the dust and dirt that had caked into her hair, “I’m Alice, we found you out in the middle of a park… looked like you’d fallen a long way…” she gestured to the others, “This is Sarya and Sary’n. We’re currently hiding in a basement in the City… I’m not entirely sure  _ where _ , exactly…”

“Wha- Zavala ordered an evacuation, why are you still here, it’s not safe.”

“We got cut off and didn’t make it to the evac point,” Sarya spoke up, “and for the record: I suggested they  _ leave  _ you where they found you… we didn’t have the supplies to care for you or your wounds.”

Jay narrowed his eyes and looked at Alice, “You found me you said?” Alice nodded, “I would have agreed with her,” Jay commented gesturing with his head at Sarya. “Libra would’ve found me eventually I’m sure.” Jay slowly forced himself to his feet, “Nevertheless, I am here now and I’m going to make the most of it. I’m getting you lot the hell out of here.”

Libra floated over his shoulder and drifted forward a bit, “Told you so.”

Jay ignored her, “First things first, we need supplies. Libra, do you still have my weapons?”

“Yes… but they’re very damaged..” Libra answered, transmatting a scorched sidearm into his hand, “And we don’t have any ammo.”

Jay inspected the weapon, and slipped it into the holster on his hip, “No matter, weapons and ammo are on the list… Is there a medical facility nearby? A hospital, urgent-care, pharmacy, anything?”

“Well sure, there’s a hospital a couple blocks away but none of us would know where to start with any of the stuff you’d find there,” Sary’n answered.

“Well you’re in luck,” Jay smirked, “ _ This  _ Guardian remembers his past life. I used to be a combat medic. And I was a pretty damn good one at that. I’ll head out and get what we need… it might take a couple trips over a few days, but I should probably rest before we make our move anyway. Are any of your people injured? I need to know what medical supplies to prioritize.”

Sarya shook her head, “Mostly only scrapes and bruises, maybe something for pain. Antibiotics, and disinfectants, and whatever you need to finish healing.”

Jay nodded, “Mind if I take a look around, take stock?”

Sarya sighed and gestured grandly to the door leading to the rest of the basement, “Alice and Lionel can show you around.” Jay was almost out the door when she spoke again, “Oh… and one more thing…” 


End file.
